Charitable donations popular among estate planners

Almost a fifth of people plan to leave money to charity when they die, according to research by the AA.

Of the 1,500 people surveyed, 18% intend to use part of their estate to make charitable donations. It suggests a gender gap between the amount of men and women planning to give to charity: 22% of women said they would give part of their estate to charity, compared to 14% of men.

There is also a gap between the number of men and women who have not written a will. 36% of women are yet to write one, compared to 26% of men.

Of those who haven't yet written a will:

51% said they hadn't gotten around to it

28% want their estate passed to their children or surviving partner

12% don't think the value of their estate justifies making a will

5% think it's too expensive.

Mark Huggins, director of AA Life Insurance said:

"Many people give money to charity when they can. But remember that when you die, your donations will only go to charities you support if you specify it in a will. That goes for what you want to leave to friends and family too."

Reduce your inheritance tax bill with charitable donations

Giving assets to charity can make a huge difference to your inheritance tax (IHT) bill. Leaving 10% or more of the net value of your estate to charity will reduce the rate of IHT on some assets from 40% to 36%.